The Steering Committee for the Nashville Education Center
campaign met on Wednesday, July 16 at the Oakdale Country Kitchen in Oakdale,
Illinois, for a working luncheon.The
Steering Committee is co-chaired by Brian Heckert, founder and wealth manager
for Financial Solutions Midwest, LLC, and Sheila Burcham, CEO of the Community
Trust Bank.

The Nashville Steering Committee is made up of Kaskaskia
College staff members and dedicated citizens working toward the design and fundraising
for an expanded Nashville Education Center.
The current Center, at 450 North Kaskaskia in Nashville, has 3,500
square feet of leased space in which to serve the growing population of Washington
County area students and communities.
The proposed new building, to be located on Highway 127 north of
Nashville, will have 12,000 square feet of space including public use computer
stations, business incubators, and classroom and laboratory space to
accommodate growing enrollments.

The cost of the new building is estimated to be $3,055,000,
of which $1.77 million is from bond funds with the remainder to be generated
through private fundraising. A major
task of the Steering Committee is to complete the needed fundraising.

At Wednesday’s meeting, it was reported that since the last
meeting, $14,000 has been raised, resulting in $570,000 being raised thus far. Team chairs reported on the progress each
team was making toward reaching the goal of funding the project, and ideas for
additional fundraising opportunities were discussed.

The Committee is planning for several public events in the
coming months, including a 5k/10k race called the Harvest Hustle to coincide
with the Washington County Wheat Festival in September, a Cosmic Bingo night, a
cash raffle, and a Mouse Race. Plans were
also discussed to have a presence at other upcoming fairs and festivals in the
area to spread the word about the expansion project and the need to grow to
continue to fulfill the educational needs of employers and students in the
southern part of the College District.

More information on the Nashville Campaign can be found at www.kaskaskia.edu/NEC,
or by calling Campaign Chair Suzanne Christ at 618-545-3069 or through email at
schrist@kaskaskia.edu.​